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Roddick eases through the semis
The defending champion fired nine aces past the Argentine who allowed the crowd favorite to win three of his services, without being able to create a break chance by himself. Roddick grabbed the first set very easily thanks to a couple of early breaks which propelled him through to a 1-0 advantage in nearly half an hour.
As for the second set, it saw the same seeder set the pace and win 80 percent of service points for a clear straight set victory. Roddick has not dropped any set so far this weekend at the Salem, remaining by far the main favorite for the event.
Andy, who has only won a title this season in Memphis, finished the game with the same service percentage as in the second term, a 44 return one and 60 winners. On the other side, Monaco won just 56 percent of service points and 20 on return, leaving with 40 winners and five double faults.
Roddick will next meet compatriot Isner who needed three sets and nearly two hours to oust Marcos Baghdatis. “You can have a game plan, but it’s a lot tougher to execute. A lot of times it’s out of your hands and it’s completely different from the matches I’ve played so far. It’s just whoever can scrape a return back on a big point and hope that something good happens,” said the top seed of the upcoming clash against the 26 year old.
Isner, who is also chasing his second title in Salem, edged Baghdatis after surviving an early scare, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 to set his fifth meeting with Roddick, second of the year. Isner hit 12 aces past the Cypriot who broke his opponent three times. The American won at the same time 63 percent of service points, 32 on return and hit 71 winners, compared to Baghdatis who won 68 percent of service points and 37 of returns.
So, despite playing a big better, the Cypriot, who lacks a trophy this year, lost the game due to the loss of pace in the decider. Isner won the third set thanks to a late break which allowed him to book a semi final berth.
En route to the semi final, Roddick defeated Edouard Roger Vasselin 6-2, 6-4 in the second term and Santiago Giraldo 6-1, 6-3 in the next one. As for Isner, he had previously ousted Jarkko Nieminen 7-6, 6-2 in the third term and Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6, 6-2 in his debut.
World number 21 Roddick leads the head to head series with Isner 3-1, with his last win coming from this term’s Indian Wells Masters. On the other side, Isner’s only victory was grabbed back in 2009 at the US Open.
Concerning the second half of the draw, Julien Benneteau has made a difficult after edging ninth favorite Sergiy Stakhovsky in a three set epic, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2. The Ukraine player was very close to winning the match in the second set, but the Frenchman leveled the result after a 15 point breaker. Benneteau thus pushed the game into a third set decider after a 9-7 tie break.
As for the third set, it saw Benneteau grab three break points as well as a four game lead he eventually converted into a big win. The French won 68 percent of serviced points, 37 on return and hit 105 winners, compared to his opponent’s 63 service percentage and 32 return one. Stakhovsky hit at the same time 101 winners and 12 aces.
Benneteau will next meet Robin Haase, who ousted Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 6-4. Haase conceded 15 aces from the American, but that did not scare him as the Dutch answered with three breaks. The tenth seeder won 69 percent of service points, 41 of return one and grabbed 62 winners to Dolgopolov’s 53.
Dolgopolov broke his opponent just once, in the second term, but never got the chance to go well ahead of the Dutch who had a 52 first serve percentage. World number 42 Haase will meet the 29 year old Benneteau for the second time.
The head to head series between the two is led 1-0 by the French who beat the 24 year old at the 2007 Hertogenbosch event. Haase had previously defeated Igor Andreev 2-6, 6-1, 7-6, Igor Kunitsyn 6-3, 6-1 and Ricardo Melo of Brazil 6-1, 6-3 in the opening term.
En route to the semi finals, Haase has grabbed a 6-4, 7-5 win over Peirre Ludovic Duclos and a 6-4, 6-1 one against veteran James Blake in the second round.
Winston Salem Prize Money and points:
Winner – $74,630 and 250 points ATP
Runner-up – $42,500 and 150 points ATP
Semi finalist – $24,520 points ATP
Quarter finalist – $14,435 and 45 points ATP
R16 – $8,410 and 20 points ATP
R32 – $5,110 and 10 points ATP
R48 – $3,115 and zero points
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